Meet Roberto Calas, Author of Beast of Maug Maurai

What inspired you to become an author?I've always been a storyteller. When I was a child, I used to tell my friends about my dreams, which weren't really dreams at all but stories I made up. I'm sure I bored my friends to tears, but from there I went to write stories and kept writing them for the rest of my life.

How did you come up with the idea for Beast of Maug Maurai?The Beast of Maug Maurai was an idea I had in college. I wrote a short story about a Beast that roamed a forest. It was dreadful Full of exclamation points and adverbs. But I always remembered it fondly and I wanted to rewrite it as a novel. With few less adverbs.

What do you think readers will enjoy most about your book?I think my strengths are in dialog and characters. Hopefully readers will enjoy these two aspects of the book. I have also worked very hard for many years honing my craft, so I hope readers will find the book easy to read and appreciate the writing itself.

What advice would you give to a new author trying to get their book published?Work on your craft and write every day. If you want to be a professional, you have to be serious about your writing. There are too many writers out there cranking out poorly written novels. Don't be a writer. Be a great writer. And Join a good writers' group. The fastest way to learn is to open your writing to critique from other writers.

Are you currently working on other books?I am about to sign a contract with a large publisher for a new project I am working on. I can't say anything about it yet, but I'll be happy to send an update when an announcement is made.

You can find out more about Roberto Calas by visiting http://robertocalas.com.